by Jennie Wintermote, WDC Resource Library Director
Yesterday our 3-year-old danced across the kitchen floor in her sock feet singing, “Joy to the world, the Ward has come.” What a delight. I know the “L” sound is one of the last to develop, and I know she’s singing “lord” but it sounds as though she’s saying a combination of “Lord” and “Word.” It makes me stop and reflect on who Jesus is–and He is so much more than the infant in the manger.
In the final pages of the children’s picture book, “The First Christmas Night” by Keith Christopher* we read that now we “can say with delight” that Jesus is born. As Jesus was born into our world that first Christmas night, so too has Jesus entered into our dark world of political divisions, pandemic fears and restrictions, and our personal wounds great and small.
Another line in “The First Christmas Night” reminds us that “redemption is nigh.” And now, on the other side of that first Christmas, redemption is here! What joyful news–God through Christ has redeemed us! And one day God will redeem all that is broken in our lives and world.
That is good news indeed! What does it mean to share this good news with delight in 2021? With the abandon of a preschooler dancing across the house, singing at the top of her voice? May we live in joy this year as messengers of Christ’s presence in our world.
*If you missed the video Christmas greetings from the WDC Resource Library and would like to view the video, click here.